Nyarlathotep - Popular Culture

Popular Culture

• In Haiyore! Nyaruko-san, a series of Japanese parody light novels with romantic comedy theme, the heroine, Nyaruko, is a Nyarlathotepian alien who claims that her kin was friend of Lovecraft and became Lovecraft's inspiration for mythos. Also adapted into two gag oriented anime short series and a 12 episode full length series under the English name of Nyarko-san: Another Crawling Chaos.

• In Charles Stross' novels The Fuller Memorandum and The Apocalypse Codex, the containment of Nyarlathotep in a parallel universe and the attempts of a cultists to free "the Black Pharaoh" is the main focus of the plot.

• A 13-minute short film version of Nyarlathotep was released in 2001, directed by Christian Matzke. It was re-released on DVD in 2004 as part of the H. P. Lovecraft Collection Volume 1: Cool Air.

• "The Dark Eternal Night" from Dream Theater contains numerous references to locations and imagery described in the short story Nyarlathotep.

• Nyarlathotep also appears in the Megami Tensei series as a recurring demon and as a villain, particularly as the main antagonist of the first and second Persona games.

• M, a major character in the visual novel Shikkoku no Sharnoth who initially uses the codename of James Moriarty, is revealed near the end of the story to be a manifestation of Nyarlathotep.

• Nyarlathotep is a boss in the game Cthulhu Saves the World.

• Nyarlothotep is the main antagonist in the story Johannes Cabal: The Fear Institute.

• Alan Moore's Neonomicon utilises Nyarlathotep in the form of Johnny Carcosa, a masked drug dealer who frequents Cthulhu-themed clubs and occult shops. His manner of converting new followers is to place them in a vegetative state, subsceptible to "Aklo" - words related to Lovecraft's work, which alter the consciousness of those who listen to them. In Moore's story, he serves the allegorical role of the Archangel Gabriel at the Annunciation, informing the protagonist that she has been impregnated and will soon give birth to Cthulhu.